Gorbachev Offer Lacks Sincerity

December 21, 1985

THE DEFT PUBLIC relations touch of Mikhail Gorbachev is at work once again. In a letter to President Reagan, the communist leader has offered to allow U.S. inspectors to visit underground nuclear test sites in the Soviet Union -- on condition this country join in a moratorium on nuclear tests.

With that qualifier, the offer was easy to make. Reagan has made it clear he will not agree, at this time, to any halt in a testing program the administration considers critical to national defense.

The White House reaction to this latest proposal was as expected. Unwilling to accept a ban that might lock the U.S. into an inferior nuclear position, the proposal was rejected. For now.

``For now`` means that, when the U.S. has completed its current series of explosions, it would be willing to discuss a test ban.

On Jan. 1, the Kremlin`s self-imposed moratorium is scheduled to end. If nothing pressing is in the works, the suspension may be extended. If Soviet weapons designers have something that requires testing, their nuclear experiments will resume.

While every Soviet initiative comes equipped with strings, Gorbachev`s latest initiative is an encouraging breach in the U.S.S.R.`s stonewall stance on on- site scrutiny.

The sincerity of the proposal will be tested when U.S. arms negotiators say, yes, they are eager to work out the kind of inspection agreement the Soviets have fought against for so many years.

If Gorbachev isn`t interested, he can`t lose. He can remind the world that, since his original offer was turned down, the U.S. is to blame for failure to work out inspection and a moratorium.

A transparent ruse, of course, but, compared to his glowering, heavy-handed predecessors, the man is a public relations genius.